There’s a new documentary, Defending My Life, about Albert Brooks on HBO which was directed by Rob Reiner, who has been friends since high school. For whatever quibbles I have, it’s very entertaining – and a treat for the extended clips on some of his classic bits he did in his standup days. I thought I’d track down some of them and post them here in full from time to time. I’ll start though with a gem that they didn’t reference, and it’s one of my favorites. (As you might imagine, this is one of my quibbles.) It’s from his first album, Comedy Minus One. I’m going to post two versions of it. The original from the album, which of course is audio only – and the other, performing it on The Flip Wilson Show. It’s pretty much the full piece (there’s even a very brief, new section). The main difference is that the TV version leaves out the much longer set-up which is fun, maybe two minutes. I like the audio-only version from the album because you use your imagination of the off-beat characters he creates. But if you want to watch it rather than just listen, I’d still suggest listening to the audio-only first, up to the point where he starts with the song auditions, and then change to this link and watch the rest. For starters, here it is from the album. And here is Brooks performing the piece on The Flip Wilson Show. Largely the same, but without the full set-up.
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Joe Rogan is a popular right-wing podcaster, not especially known for his research or accuracy, but a major supporter of Trump. (Thought, "not especially known for his research or accuracy" sort of fits.) On his show the other day, though, Rogan and his guest, ace political analyst Bo Nickal -- an MMA fighter -- surprisingly relentlessly ridiculed Trump for saying there were airports during the Revolutionary War, laughing repeatedly at Trump, even to the point of saying "You're done." Here's the thing though -- They didn't know that they were ridiculing Trump. They thought they were mocking President Biden. Indeed, if they'd done just the very slightest bit of research, since it was well-covered at the time, they would have realized out that, in fact, Joe Biden had never said what they thought, and that it was Trump they were not ridiculing Almost more remarkably, Rogan and his ace political analyst MMA-fighter guest were fact checked on the air by the show's producer. What started it all was Rogan and Nickal ridiculing President Biden for supposedly saying there were airports during the Revolutionary War, which got them laughing at Biden and saying "You're done." But that's when the show's producer unexpectedly interrupted to tell them, er, I think it might have been Trump who said that. (I can only assume the producer realized that it was better to correct them on-air before their ridiculing of what was really Trump got out of hand.) The mistake Rogan and guest made is that when Biden talked about airports in the Revolutionary War he was quoting Trump and making fun of him. At first, the producer played the tape of Biden saying this, though it's clear (or should be clear to anyone with half a sense) that he's quoting Trump, referring to him as "the stable genius," for having said it. Yet even though that should be clear, Rogan and Nickal still keep laughing, thinking this is the proof of what they were referring to. But then, the producer interrupts again and says, no, Biden was talking about Trump -- and then played the tape of Trump talking about airports in the Revolutionary War. (Something he said, it should be noted, back July 5, 2019. And, as noted, was widely in the news at the time.) This is all on video, and Rogan's deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression leaps out. "Ohhhh..." And then, both he and Nickal backtrack so fast you can smell the burning rubber, and -- being the good cult acolytes they are -- let Trump totally off the hook, after having mocked President Biden at length for being who they thought said it. And they cowardly dismiss it now that they know it was Trump who said it! "So, he fucked up," Rogan shrugs. To which Nickal oh-so-apolgetically adds, "You can tell he messed up his words." What's wonderful, too, is that the producer also corrects them for apparently thinking that President Biden had been referring to "stable Jesus," rather than him saying "stable genius." (I can't swear to this, because the video cuts out some material -- likely of them continuing to ridicule Biden. But it's the only thing that makes sense when you hear the producer bring up "stable genius, not 'stable genius' and Rogan and Nickal respond to being corrected.) But what I might like the most of all in the tape is when Nickal tries to pass off blame for their awful gaffe on others -- yet not realizing he's really slamming himself and Rogan for not just leaping to the totally wrong conclusion -- but wrong about something they missed that was in all the news at time...FOUR YEARS AGO. "That's the thing about media these days," Nickal says, almost accusatorially at others, you gotta look into it." Well, yes, you do. And given that it's actually Rogan's show and job to do say, it's something he should have recognized long ago. But hasn't. In the end, though, this is pure extreme-right "thinking" these days, and as quintessential an example of the Republican base adoration of Trump, without recognizing that SO many things he projects on others that they hate so much are really about Trump himself. And it's also pure Joe Rogan. And his listener base. Clueless about facts and reality. And taking the concept of pulling thoughts out of one of your body orifices as standing in for "thoughtful analysis" And now, as they say in sports, let's go to the tape -- Today's Fest is all you want. Two completely different songs titled, "All I Want for Christmas is You" -- and both wonderful. The first is the one that most people think of, Maria Carey's song. Though this is her version only in part, it's from an utterly joyous "Carpool Karaoke" with James Corden and a sleigh full of singers, vibrantly edited together. The other is a great song from Vince Vance and the Valiants, which he wrote five years earlier in 1989. They had a huge country hit with it, and made a nice music video of the song, but the video features a model filling in to lip-sync the soaring, raspy vocal by lead singer Lisa Layne. So, instead, I thought I'd post her in concert, front-and-center on her own. (Side note: It was her choice not to appear in the video -- except for a small cameo -- because she thought people might think there was an actual romance going on between her and Vince Vance. They still do perform together-- there's an audience-recorded video of the full group doing the song in 2019.) Falling under the "Fest" part of the gala, this is a video I always enjoy for the season from the Conan show -- all the more so on the gift-opening part of Christmas. It's about his effort to come up with a Secret Santa gift for one of his staff members. The other day for the Holiday Music Fest, I posted a beautiful, haunting recording of "The Little Drummer Boy," sung in German by Marlene Dietrich. I thought this would be an appropriate follow-up on Christmas Day. This comes from Season One of The West Wing, a Christmas episode titled, "In Excelsis Deo." It's the last four-minutes, and one of the best final four minutes, not just of The West Wing, but a TV episode I've seen. Wonderful not only for what it's about, but that combined with the use of music, performance and editing. And it is an absolutely beautiful, moving setting for "The Little Drummer Boy." Every year around this time, there are articles about which recorded version of A Christmas Carol is "the best." Usually it comes down to the films that starred either Alistair Sim or Reginald Owen. But for me, it's this one. It's not a movie, though, or a TV production. It's, of all things, an audio version that was done in 1960 for, I believe, the BBC. It's quite wonderful and as good an adaptation of the story as I've come across. It stars Sir Ralph Richardson as Scrooge, and Oscar-winner Paul Scofield as Dickens, the narrator. Casts don't get much better than that. And it's about as fine a way to head into Christmas Eve for the Holiday Music Fest. I first heard this on radio station WFMT in Chicago which has been playing this every Christmas Eve for many decades. Eventually, I found it on audio tape. I've listened to it annually since I was a kidling. Some years I think I won't listen to it this year, but put it on for a few minutes for tradition's sake -- but after the first sentence it sucks me in. There are four reasons why, for me, this is far and away the best version. But one reason leaps out. First, the acting is as good as it gets. Scofield is crisp and emphatic as the narrator, and almost every creak of his voice draws you in to the world, and Richardson as Scrooge is a Christmas pudding joy. Second, being radio, you aren't limited by budgets to create the Dickensian world. Your imagination fills in every lush and poverty-stricken, nook and cranny -- and ghostly spirit, aided by moody sound effects and violins. Third, the adaptation sticks closely to the Dickens tale, and Scrooge comes across more a realistic, rounded-person than as a Mythic Icon. And fourth, and most of all by far, unlike any of the other version, this includes...Dickens. While the story of A Christmas Carol is beloved, it's Dickens' writing that makes it even more vibrant than the story alone is. And that's all lost in the movie versions, even down even to the legendary opening line, "Marley was dead, to begin with." Or any of the other classic narrative lines. (Like my favorite, when Scrooge first comes in contact with a ghost and was "as close to it as I am now to you, and I am standing in the spirit at your elbow.") Or the richness of Dickens setting the mood and tone and description of the gritty and ephemeral and emotional world. All that's gone in movies, good as the productions may be. But all of that is here in this radio adaptation, and Scofield's reading of it is joyously wonderful and memorable. For many, this will be A Christmas Carol unlike any other you're aware of, giving it a meaning and richness you didn't realize was there. The ending of the tale is so much more moving and joyful here, as we listen to Dickens' own words, that begin with "Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more," and it soars from there, to perhaps my favorite extended passage about the new Scrooge and how good he is in the "good old world. Or any other good old world." If you have the time or inclination, do give it a listen. If only for five minutes to at least get the flavor. You might find yourself sticking around. Let it play in the background, if you have other things to do. It runs about 55 minutes. (Side note: speaking of Dickens, if you know the original cast album of Oliver!, the actor here who plays the Ghost of Christmas Present, Willoughby Goddard, was Mr. Bumble on Broadway and also in the original London production.) Normally I would post this later in the evening -- but given the various time zones across the country, I thought that I'd get it embedded earlier to give as many listeners as possible the chance to hear it on Christmas Eve. This might not play immediately, since it's a large file and may have to buffer first. But be patient, it's worth it. Ralph Richardson, left. Paul Scofield, right.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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